Tennis: Kuznetsova downs Kiwi no.1

New Zealand tennis No 1 Sacha Jones. Photo / Getty Images

Wildcard Sacha Jones put up a gutsy effort before falling to Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 6-2 on the opening day of the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland.

The New Zealand No 1 showed plenty of aggression and some excellent groundstrokes to ensure the tournament third seed had to work for her win.

She twice came from service breaks down in the first set to equalise, before Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam tournament winner and former world No 1, took out the set in 51 minutes.

Jones, 20, again showed fighting qualities in the second set, and one back-hand winner down the line earned applause from her opponent.

However, Kuznetsova's greater consistency and power proved decisive as she progressed after one hour and 25 minutes.

- NZPA